I squat inside the pop-up tent, stuffing my ruined clothes into a rucksack. Dad’s not back yet and in the distance I can hear the rest of them laughing around the campfire.
Laughing at me.
Shaking my head, I pull the drawstring of my rucksack tight. I’ve packed all my stuff and now I just want to go home.
It was bad enough being pushed into the mud, but what made it worse was Damon and Amba’s reaction. At first my friends looked so worried when they raced to my side, but then, as their gazes flicked from my dad to me and back again, Amba couldn’t stop herself from giggling.
‘What’s so funny?’ I snapped as the slime dripped down my face.
‘I’m sorry, Jake,’ Amba replied as Damon tried to hide his smile. ‘But you should see the both of you. Your dad looks like he’s just stepped out of a spaceship while you look like a swamp monster from Mars. Don’t let Flip catch you like this or he’ll think the aliens really have landed this time.’
Crawling out through the tent flap, I stare up into the darkness of the sky. The stars look so much brighter than I’ve ever seen them before, but right now I feel so alone. Mum said this trip would give Dad the chance to make things right, but he’s just made it all go wrong.
I smell my dad before I see him, the sickly-sweet scent of toasted marshmallows following him on the breeze as he walks up the field.
‘I thought you were coming down to the campfire once you got yourself changed? Don’t worry, I’ve told Flip to save some marshmallows for you,’ he calls out cheerily.
As he reaches the tent, Dad looks down at the rucksack on the ground beside me.
‘What’s the matter, Jake? Are you feeling OK?’
I shake my head, remembering the flying saucer marshmallows floating in front of my face as I pulled my head out of the muddy puddle.
‘No,’ I say, fighting to keep a lid on my anger. ‘I’m not OK. Now just leave me alone.’
Dad ignores me, moving my rucksack to one side as he sits down on the grass. I shuffle along on my bottom as I try to move away, but it’s not the smell of burnt marshmallows that’s making me feel sick.
‘Come on, Jake,’ Dad begins. ‘Don’t be like this. You’ll feel different when you’ve had something to eat. Let’s go down to the campfire together. Flip said I can borrow his acoustic guitar.’
The thought of Dad leading a campfire singalong pushes me over the edge and I can’t stop myself from snapping out loud, ‘I said, go away! Why would I want to come down to the campfire when everyone’s laughing at me? You’ve ruined everything, Dad, and I just want to go home.’
I can’t even look at him, keeping my gaze fixed on the stars as I blink back my tears.
A long silence fills the space between us, but Dad stays where he is.
‘I’m sorry, Jake,’ he says finally. ‘I know I made a mistake, but I was just trying to protect you back there. I thought you were in danger. I thought we both were.’
‘You were just playing a stupid game! Blabbering on about alien technology when I’d already found the marshmallow flying saucers.’ I turn towards Dad, his ridiculous ski suit shining silver in the moonlight. ‘Why did you even bring me here if you were just going to embarrass me again?’
Dad shakes his head. ‘I never meant to embarrass you, Jake. And I wasn’t playing a game. There’s something that you need to know. Something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a very long time.’
Dad usually acts like everything’s a joke, but right now he looks so serious.
‘I brought you here because this is where it all began. Sort of.’